Search form

Search form

Secretary of Defense nominee Chuck Hagel is urging Congress to create a permanent solution to sequestration, warning the cuts would have a dire impact on the U.S. military. The across-the-board cuts "would harm military readiness and disrupt each and every investment program," Hagel said. "Based on my assessment to date, I share [Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta's] concerns. I urge the Congress to eliminate the sequester threat permanently and pass a balanced deficit-reduction plan."

Related Summaries

Saying the Pentagon needs to make tough choices to maintain the readiness of military forces, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel urged Congress not to tinker with the spending decisions laid out in the Defense Department's 2015 budget plan. His statement follows new legislation offered this week by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., to reshape the spending plan.

The Egyptian military leaders must find a way to smooth the government's transition, says Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, and when assembling the government, the country should be "as inclusive as possible," said a Pentagon spokesman. Hagel spoke recently to Egyptian military chief Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, urging him to allow supporters of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi to share in power.

A slowdown in federal defense spending sparked a surprise slip into negative growth in the U.S. economy in the final three months of last year, the first contraction since 2009. AIA President and CEO Marion C. Blakey stated, "It's what we have been warning about for months and months, because we do know that the cuts to defense spending that are already in place through the Budget Control Act are causing our companies to pull back, laying off workers." She warned that sequestration cuts would trigger "a much more dramatic acceleration of job losses."

Northrop Grumman reported fourth-quarter earnings from continuing operations of $533 million, or $2.14 per share, easily beating analysts' expectations of $1.74 per share, but the company warned a tougher year is ahead. Northrop projects a 5% drop in sales in 2013 and up to a 12% decline in earnings, as federal defense spending falls.

Asked where the federal government should cut back spending, more Americans pointed to the defense budget than to any other area, according to a new poll by Reason-Rupe poll, conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International. War spending and the Pentagon budget topped the list of spending that respondents want to see cut, followed by the category of federal worker salaries.